Wheat-treating device



Jamie 10. 1924;.

J. 'F. LAFFOON WHEAT TREATING DEYICE Filed Ana. 5.

Patented June I9, 1924.

JAMES F. LAFYEOON, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

WHEAT-TREATING DEVICE.

Application filed August 5,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES F. IJAFFOON, a

had to the accompanying drawings, and to T i and a discharge 14. Thegrain may be fed the letters and figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to agrain tempering or conditioning tank, theprimary object being to equally distribute the moisture throughout thegrain stream as it passes from the inlet to the outlet, preparatory tobeing fed into the breaking rolls.

It is also an object'of the invention to permit uniform expansion of theindividual grains during the tempering'process.

In carrying out my invention I provide a vertically arranged, elongatedtank or tower in which the grain may be fed and allowed to gravitatetoward the bottom in such a manner that there will be a rolling actionof'the grains one upon another, the stream being sub-divided so that thesub-divided streams may expand and contract to efiect the rolling actionand to allow the individual grains to expand due to the absorbedmoisture.

One form of device constructed in accordance with my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. I is a vertical,longitudinal, sectional view through a tank or tower with thestream-dividing devices therein.

Fig. II is a view partly in section and partly in perspective of thetank or tower and the stream dividing devices, and

Fig. III is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through one of thestream dividing devices and a portion of the wall of the tower.

The invention is illustrated as consisting of an elongated tubular tankor tower 1, preferably disposed vertically between two floors 2 and 3.vVit-hin the tubular tank or tower is a plurality of stream dividingdevices, each of which consists of a support, illustrated as a disk 4,to which are secured a plurality of stream dividing hoppers or fun-1920. Seria1N0.401,284.

nels 5, 6, 7 and 8, formed by dividing a main hopper into a plurality ofcompartments through the partition members designated 9 and 10.

The stream dividing devices are spacedapart to provide chambers 11,through which I the grain passes. The lower ends of the hop pers 5, 6, 7and 8 are restrictechas at 12,

while the upper ends are relatively large, the combined hoppers beingsubstantially the area of the tank or tower 1'.

The tower 1 is provided with an inlet 13f into the inlet in a moistenedcondition and pers where the stream lines will be divided intoconstricted subdivisions and as they pass through the discharge end 12,they will be permitted to expand as they seek'the line of repose, asindicated at 15...

As the subdivided streams of grain pass into the second chamber belowthe first set of stream-dividing devices, the grain will roll one overthe other, equally distributing the moisture and reducing the pressureof the stream so that the grains may expand to a certain extent. Thestream is then collected in the second set of hoppers and the sameaction is performed.

Any number of hoppers or groups of hop pers may be utilized to performthe desired result so that I do not wish to be limited to the particulararrangement or number shown.

If desired, the wall of the tower or tank may be provided with a bafliedinlet opening 16 having an inwardly projecting wing or hook 17 to directthe grain away from the opening but which will allow the insertion ofthrough the discharge spout 14 into thebreaking rolls, to be carried toany point desired.

It has been found in actual practice that a device constructed inaccordance with the lilt) one just described will efficiently carry outthe purpose for which it is intended; to wit: to allow the grain to passthrough the tower in sub-divided streams which alternately contract andexpand and which cause the grains to tumble one over the other as theypass through the tank or tower, the action being eifective in allowingthorough expansion of the grain so that pressure thereon is relieved.

I have found in actual practice that the,

best results are obtained by staggering the discharge ends 12 of thehoppers in one set with respect to the receiving ends of an adjacent setof hoppers. For example, if the discharge portions 12 of one set ofhoppers arerin line with the partition members 10 of the next succeedingset of hoppers, the wheat will be caused to roll as it is deliveredthrough the cylinder or tower and an efficient result will be obtained.

The container 1 is always full of grain and the wet grain is fed intothe container 1 at the same rate that it is discharged from it. Themovement through the container 1 is exceedingly slow so that tie grain.will have time to swell or expand as well as to have a slow rollingcontact of the grains one upon the other. The device differs from anordinary steaming or tempering device in that it treats the grain afterit has been Steamed or initially tempered. It does not take the place ofa tempering device but is for treating the grain after steaming ortemperin 1,4.ee,see

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. A. wheat treating device comprising a tower, and stream-dividingdevices in spaced relation within the tower, each stream-dividing devicehaving a receiving mouth coextensive with the interior of the tower andhavinga plurality of inset, restricted outlets.

2. A wheat treating device comprising a tower, and stream-dividingdevices in spaced relation within the tower, each stream-dividing devicehaving a receiving month coextensive with the interior of the tower andhaving a plurality of inset, restricted outlets, the spaces between thestrea1n-dividing devices being unobstructed, for the purpose set forth.

3. A wheat treating device comprising a tower, spaced supports dividingthe interior of the tower into chambers, and stream-dividing deviceslocated above each support, each comprising a partitioned hopper havinga receiving month co-extensive with the interior of the tower and havinga restricted outlet for each partitioned section, inset from the wall ofthe tower and projected through the underlying support.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JAMES F. LAFFOON.

